Review: Amazing Spider-Man #682 – ‘Ends of the Earth’ Begins!

March 21, 2012

Amazing Spider-Man #682
Writer: Dan Slott
Art: Stefano Caselli, Frank Martin Jr. [Colors]

On the verge of death, Dr. Otto Octavius has initiated his final diabolical plan. Using a towering structure that rises from his base beneath the sea (Where do these guys get the funding and materials for these things?), he has positioned an array of satellites in Earth’s orbit to create an “Octavian lens” that will…stop global warming?

After threatening to burn the half of the world currently facing the sun (and giving Chicago a sweet cameo), Octavius pulls a 180 and tells everyone via satellite feed that he is merely showing them the Earth they are leaving to their great-grandchildren and actually intends to preserve the planet as his final act. It would seem noble enough, if the other five villains rounding out the latest incarnation of the Sinister Six (Sandman, Mysterio, Electro, Rhino, and the Chameleon) weren’t smirking behind him.

Though many of New York’s citizens (and even a few Avengers) are buying the idea that perhaps Doc Ock might have good intentions for a change, Peter Parker–who has spent the last several months preparing new gadgets for just such an occasion in his lab at Horizon–isn’t convinced.

Meanwhile, New York’s Mayor, J. Jonah Jameson, has vowed to shut down Horizon Labs at any and all cost following the peril his astronaut son was in onboard the company’s space station in Amazing Spider-Man #680 and 681, setting up a subplot that could potentially complicate Peter Parker’s life again and expanding Jameson’s personal crusade against Spider-Man to include Horizon founder Max Modell.

Overall, this is a great first issue to Dan Slott’s much-hyped “Ends of the Earth” saga. Not only do we see yet another cool new suit that Peter has designed to help him as Spider-Man, but Slott establishes a sense that the technology Pete developed has been put to practical, “real-world” use in the Marvel Universe. This, of course, keeps in tradition with the idea that the book is just as much about Peter Parker as it is about his alter ego.

Furthermore, Stefano Caselli’s art feels as briskly paced as the story without sacrificing detail. The opening pages, with Spider-Man stealing a few tricks out of an old enemy’s bag, are especially fun.

If the rest of this arc is this good, “Spider-Island” will have tough competition for “Best Spider-Man Event of the Last Decade.”

STORY: 10/10
ART: 10/10

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Review : Batman #7 Bruce Keeps his friends close and his enemies even closer than he imagined

Matthew Sardo

March 21, 2012

Batman#7

Story By: Scott Snyder

Art By: Greg Capullo

Review Score: 9.5/10

Scott Snyder opens up this issue with an homage to Batman Year One. We see Bruce sitting in front of a statue of his father as a Bat comes crashing through his window .He uses that as his sign of what he will become . That’s how the scene was left. Scott Snyder however uses this moment to draw more subtext into his story. He shows us the short path that bat traveled after Wayne Manor. Very shortly after leaving the Manor the bat gets attacked and eaten in a brutal display of power by an Owl. These scenes drawn by Greg Capullo and narrated by Snyder are a perfect way to build tension and dread into Bruce’s already bleak situation. It once again proves that Snyder is a master at creating new story threads using old elements from a characters past which strengthens the title characters history in the process.

Batman finds help from an unlikely teen which provides some levity from an otherwise shocking and dark issue. Batman finds his way back to Wayne Manor using the underground sewage tunnels . Alfred sees Bruce and helps him into the Bat Cave . Bruce not knowing that Alfred had found the corpse of Talon shows considerable fear at first site of the character. It’s a sad moment showing us just how much Batman has went through that he would back pedal in fear at the site of his dead enemy. Instead of resting Bruce opts to inspect the body to try to find clues about what he’s dealing with.

Enter Dick Grayson aka Nightwing. If Dick has served anything in this series its been that he’s the one who hasn’t been afraid to call things what they are to Bruce.When he comes down to see Bruce he immediately see’s Bruce is in a bad place. After Dick asks Bruce what hes hiding from him Bruce finally explains what hes found out. Batman has found out how and why Talon was able to come back to life . Using an alloy called Electrum that was put into his tooth at an early age it caused his cells to reproduce at an accelerated rate . This is how the bodies are being reanimated as well as how he survived the Fall in issue two. However Batman also reveals to dick that this Talon’s name is William Cobb and that hes Dick’s Great Grandfather. A angered Dick starts arguing with Bruce , telling him that the reason he hid this from him was to protect himself from feeling emotions. Bruce’s response? He backhands Dick knocking out a tooth in the process. That tooth ends up also having Electrum in it in the shape of an owl . Finally Batman tells Dick that he was supposed to be this eras Talon and he found out that Haley’s Circus has gathered Gotham’s best young talents for The Court of Owls throughout the years. Batman saved Dick from that fate when he adopted Dick after the Death of his parents. Again its a nice way to pay respects for cannon while adding new layers to an already rich story.

Greg Capullo again shows us that he’s becoming stronger and stronger as a story-teller in his own right. He manages to add dramatic touches to every scene he draws . Whether it’s the many facial expressions he captures on Bruce even while wearing his costume or the anger and sadness on the faces Dick and Alfred he forces you to become emotionally invested in every panel. I especially love the scene where he Backhands Nightwing and then the next panel is him picking up that single tooth. Because of Scott’s ability to set the build up to that scene in his writing he allows Greg to finish it out through his Artwork. The two of them may be the best collaborators working in comics at the moment.

The last pages show the Court of Owl’s unleashing a whole army of Talon’s on Gotham . They want to reclaim Gotham City and Dine on Batman’s bones in the process. Whats going to unfold on this next arc has me excited to no end. It’s Batman and his extended Bat Family against the Court of Owls . Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo continue to tell an exciting and emotional story that is sure to go down as one of Bruce’s best in recent memory. Simply put go read this book.

Mike DeVivo

Follow me on Twitter @pandasandrobots

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Book Review – Star Wars: Darth Plagueis

Matthew Sardo

March 21, 2012

James Luceno’s new book, Darth Plagueis, largely re-tells the story of Episode I – The Phantom Menace but from the Sith perspective of Palpatine’s master and then of Palpatine himself. It also adds some very interesting details about the Sith’s ‘Grand Plan’ for destroying the Jedi and how the plan evolves based on opportunities and obstacles encountered by the dark lords. You get a peek into plots which evolve and succeed or fail as the Sith masters probe the defenses of the Jedi.

As the book opens, we see Plagueis (like all good Sith) seizing an opportunity to assassinate his master Darth Tenebrous when they are betrayed during a business dealing. Although Tenebrous doesn’t stick around very long in the book, it’s clear that there is mistrust between Plagueis and Tenebrous and that Tenebrous doubts that Plagueis has the stuff to cut it as the future of the Sith – a common tendency among the Sith masters. Darth Plagueis later finds out just how little faith Tenebrous had in him when he has to dispatch an alternative apprentice Tenebrous had selected – another common tendency of Sith lords.

While the story moves along, another interesting Sith characteristic becomes apparent, the propensity for each Sith lord to regard the ‘Grand Plan’ and their role as Sith in the prism of their own culture or species. For example, Tenebrous is a Bith and focuses on Bith science in combination with the dark side where as Plagueis, a Muun, prefers to work through financial manipulation to seed instability throughout the Galaxy. We see this characteristic repeated when Palpatine comes into the picture with his political acumen.

Probably the most interesting and enriching aspect of this book are the details that it provides to supplement the story in Episode I – The Phantom Menace. We learn how Plagueis and Palpatine manipulate galactic governments and trade rivalries to place Padme Amidala in the throne on Naboo and how they manipulate Sifo-Dyas and Dooku to lay the groundwork for the Clone Wars. Luceno also reveals how Palpatine is discovered by Plagueis and how Palpatine ultimately makes his leap to the dark side. On a side note, Luceno also makes an interesting implication that one’s propensity towards the light or dark side may be inherent rather than the choice it is often presented as. One thing that comes through perfectly though is that Palaptine is a complete sociopath who is unbelievably well-suited for the role he is to play in the downfall of the Jedi.

While some may be done with the Phantom Menace’s storyline, this book does a great job of resuscitating if not completely redeeming that narrative and is well worth the time. As the book concludes with Palpatine’s ascension and Plageuis’ death, I had to wonder if this would have been a better telling of Episode I.

[amazon_link id=”034551128X” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Buy Darth Plagueis[/amazon_link]

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Review: Saga Chapter One – Brian K Vaughn hits a Sci Fi / Fantasy Homerun

Matthew Sardo

March 20, 2012

Saga Chapter One

Written By : Brian K. Vaughn

Art By: Fiona Staples

Review 9/10

When a writer chooses to open up his new book with the phrase “Am I shitting? It feels Like I’m shitting!” you realize that your reading a book that both creators could care less whether you agree with them or not. They just want to tell an engaging and fun story. Brian K. Vaughn’s new series Saga is exactly that. A fun and engaging story with a cast that you will immediately fall in love with. Vaughn introduces us to Alana who is in the middle of birthing her first-born child while her husband Marko helps with the delivery. It’s a very serious situation , that is amazingly heart warming and hilarious due to Vaughn’s writing skills. His trade mark use of politics and sense of humor are still in tact.

You get a sense of who Saga’s two main characters are immediately , and Vaughn chooses to have their new-born baby be the narrator throughout the entire issue which creates a nice subtext to every scene involving our main characters. Alana and Marko are from two different warring Nations . Alana’s nation Landfall is overseen by Robots inserted as dictators and Marko’s from their closest Satellite and Moon. Vaughn simply states “It was a time of War, isn’t it always” and sets in motion how our two main characters met. Needless to say Alana and Marko meeting one another and getting married has caused both planets to try to find the couple and end their lives before word gets out that they are together.

I have to commend Fiona Staples this issue for taking on all the crazy ideas Brian has and putting them on the page in a visually compelling way. She definitely draws some adult situations. Breastfeeding a child , drawing a Man goat with his guts hanging out after being blown up , and finally two robots having sex only to be interrupted by their Alligator Butler..sure why not. She knows how to frame a scene . Her character designs are also fresh and exciting . She’s just as responsible for you falling in love with our main characters as Brian is .

The issue ends with Marko and Alana on the run in search of a Rocket Ship that will get them off of this planet and somewhere safe that they can raise their baby. Marko and Alana Finally slow down enough to share a sweet moment with one another and then name their child Hazel. Our new-born Narrator Hazel’s last quotes of the issue are “thanks to these two , I get to grow old, not everyone does” over a final page of our couple kissing. It’s a touching and heartbreaking moment that ends a very well written and drawn chapter to Saga. This is long form storytelling in the hands of a man who loves nothing more than to tell these kinds of stories . So I’m telling you all that yes this book is awesome , while its a slow build at the end ,there is enough fun and excitement in this one issue for me to easily tell you that I can’t wait for the next chapter.

Mike DeVivo

Follow me on Twitter @pandasandrobots

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Advanced Review: Clay County Graphic Novel – Rednecks vs. Aliens with a dash of Strange Brew

Matthew Sardo

March 19, 2012

Written by: Bruce Brown & Chip Christell
Art by: Adam Mrozowski
Letters by: E.T. Dollman
Published by: Arcana

Clay County is like Tucker and Dale Vs. Aliens (circa 1950). Haven’t seen Tucker & Dale vs Evil? Then think Squidbillies with a dash of King Of The Hill. Basically its tongue in cheek rednecks drinking their way into and out of trouble. In this case it’s while an alien invasion of Earth is happening. The aliens are cruising around in flying saucers and kind of look Kang and Kodos from the Simpsons. They’ve invaded and took over the planet nearly three years ago and are just not getting around to conquering the backwoods podunk Clay County.

The plot synopsis on the back of the book does it more justice than I ever could:

“Now three years after their invasion the merciless aliens have crushed the resistance and annihilated all freedom fighters but one: Sgt. Coleman. Coleman is the Earths last hope, if he can find the mysterious power source known only as SF-92…

Together with the unlikely allies of Clay County citizens Bake, Vern, Hot Dog and Root; Coleman set out to find the SF-92 before the Earths otherworldly overlords do, save mankind, and drink a few cold ones along the way.”

Ok so this is something I probably wouldn’t pick up on my own. Since I scored a review copy I’m glad I gave it a go. It’s a light-hearted romp chock full of redneck colloquialisms, alcohol slapstick and fart jokes. Some of it is actually pretty funny too. “Gawd Dammer!” “Summabitch!” Granted there is a few times I feel it was trying a bit too hard, but some of humor wore me down and actually got me to laugh out loud at it. There’s a running gag where the rednecks never call Sgt. Coleman by his proper name. They call him “Coalmine”, “Kauffman”, “Coldsore”, “Codpiece”, “Cornfield” and so on. It’s starts out as funny, then it gets old, and then they run the gag into ground so much that you can’t help but laugh at it in the end. Frankly I like that kind of commitment. While this is a far-cry from the Blue Collar Comedy Tour and Larry The Cable Guy (that’s a good thing IMO) it definitely has the comedic charm of the Three Stooges and Strange Brew with a redneck slant. Dumb luck and buffoonery with a touch of restraint rule the day here. Oh yeah and one last thing. They battle the aliens with a killer pumpkin chucker, straight from the Mythbusters spin-off series on the Discovery channel. That my friends, is worth the price of admission right there.

Art wise, this is a loose syndicated news paper-style in the vein of Calvin & Hobbes, Rose Rose, Bloom County and Mike Luckovich political comics but with a Johnny Bravo design sense. Eyes always seem to truly define the syndicated style, and the ones in Clay County are either bug-eyed, beady or squinty. Everything seems to have a bit of 1950’s atomic age swing to it, but very loosely. For the most part its colored in a duo-tone digital water-color/airbrush, with the foreground being either olive or blue and the background being the reverse of that (blue or olive). Honestly I think a straight flat duo-tone could have helped enhanced that 50’s style a bit. The digital airbrushing/watercolors were really sloppy in some areas that it was distracting and pulled me out of the story. That’s never a good thing. You know the saying, K.I.S.S. Keep it Simple, Stupid. I also didn’t like a photoshopped cover or the crappy graphics between chapters that look like they crawled out of MS Paint. I guess that’s my main beef of the art. That aside, the interior work services they story in a whimsical way, and adds to hilarity of it all. Mrozowski nailed the expressions of Bake, Hot Dogg and Root and really made them stand out as characters.

This is one of those books that you have to the appreciate dumb humor that’s going on to get in to it. That isn’t to say the book is dumb, or that you have to be dumb to enjoy it. It’s just either you get it or you don’t. I liked it. I thought it was funny. I had a rough couple of days and it brought a smile to my face. At the end of the day that’s what it’s really all about isn’t it? That you enjoyed something you read. You had fun with it and felt good after reading it. Clay County just might be that PG-13 redneck comedy relief that you need. It’s currently available to pre-order in comic shops thought Previews or on pre-order on Amazon.

Story: 7/10
Art: 6.5/10

Follow me on twitter and tell me what you think @the_hellhounds

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AMC’s Walking Dead finale review – Lori is an awful, awful, awful woman.

Matthew Sardo

March 19, 2012

Four writers from the Comic Vault got together via Facebook and watched the season finale of AMC’s Walking Dead together. This is what happened. (From left to right; Roger Riddell III, Mike DeVivo, Matthew Sardo and Jerry Nelson)

Jerry Nelson – There are a few choice moments of this season. The death of zombie Sophie worked because it marked an end for a very long and boring search. That whole plot line seemed a bit thin and I was happy for it to end. I also really enjoyed Dale’s shocking and brutal demise. He lasted a bit longer in the comic and had a whole different life, so this was an unexpected twist. He seemed to be a strong moral compass for the group and, frankly, it’s just more interesting without that preachy father figure.

Shane’s human death and zombie death were, of course, fantastic as well. Most people knew what happened in the comic, but you really never know where they were going to take this Shane storyline because he was such a fan favorite. It was great that Rick showed some balls and a bit of deception, as well, as he drove the knife home for a deep and personal kill. It was fitting that it was so confrontational and Rick kind of beat Shane at his own game. Having Carl shoot the zombie Shane was a nice nod to what happened in the comic and really put an exclamation point on the episode.

What didn’t work this season was most of the first half. The search for Sophia was long, and all the emo lamenting that followed.

Also: Lori’s lack of character just in general. She’s just a fucking lame character. With the exception of her bucking with Andrea and teasing Shane into a suicidal confrontation with Rick, she’s been pretty useless.

Roger Riddell III – It seems like a lot of plot lines in this show are a bit thin and drag on for too long. For example, Shane should’ve been dead a long time ago.

By the way, once they finally did kill Shane off, what was the deal with those terrible, made-for-SyFy-Channel-TV-movie “zombie transformation flashes?”

Jerry Nelson – There’s better ways to show a transformation, such as some physical zombification close-ups. Blackening veins, eyes going milky, etc.

Roger Riddell III – I think that, plus the terrible way the show handles flashbacks and the spotty acting, really pull me out of being able to enjoy the show. Remember that flashback where they were looking on as a city was nuked? (At least I think I remember a city being nuked…)

The show is alright, but it jumped the shark during the first season when they put a self-destruct button in the CDC.

Mike DeVivo – They kind of veered off into Resident Evil territory with that one

Roger Riddell III – Agreed! For a show that aims for a realistic depiction of a zombie apocalypse, a CDC headquarters equipped with a self-destruct button just seems a bit ridiculous.

Jerry Nelson – That’s why I’m glad they got rid of Darabont, he took the series into a boring cliché direction. Ever since they axed him, it seemed to get back on track and be on par with the source material. The CDC storyline was a joke.

And I fucking wish Darryl would have let Carol die. Her and Laurie, fucking mothers of the year. It’s a zombie apocalypse and they never know where their kids are.

Mike DeVivo – I agreed again on Darabont’s watch. I love Hershel right now.

Roger Riddell III – AMC seems pretty desperate for new ‘Mad Men’ viewers. [SEE: Every ‘Mad Men’ ad they aired during the last few episodes]

Jerry Nelson – Darryl seems like the only one with sense sometimes, and the group just ignores him all the time. Andrea is a crack-shot and valuable resource. It seems a shame to just abandon her to the zombie horde.

Mike DeVivo – Andrea is going to be the “survivor” of the group

Roger Riddell III – Anyone else find themselves waiting for the Governor’s people to just pop up several times in the last 20 minutes? I was pretty sure they were about to ambush Glenn and Maggie when they stopped in the middle of the road. I wouldn’t be surprised if Andrea popped back up with the Governor’s group.

Mike DeVivo – Yeah, I’m thinking that may happen, though I’m also thinking they may meet Michonne at the end of this episode.

Roger Riddell III – What do you know? She popped back up sooner than I thought.

Mike DeVivo –I’m glad they got that out of the way, and he (Rick) told her (Lori).

Roger Riddell III – I don’t know how I feel about “We all have the zombie virus, but we’re not becoming zombies.”

Mike DeVivo – Lori is an awful, awful, awful woman. Apparently Pandora’s Box is inside of Lori’s Vagina.

The only problem I have so far is that some of the choices to change the story seem to have to do with the ratings system on the show and AMC not wanting to do certain things not for story purposes

Jerry Nelson – “Rick I’m pissed at you because you thwarted Shane’s plan and killed him before he killed you. Then, you let Carl kill zombie Shane.” – Laurie, making no sense as usual.

Mike DeVivo – Lori sucking at life as usual. Michonne!!!!!!

Roger Riddell III – That lady was standing way too far back for that blade to decapitate that zombie!

Jerry Nelson – Michonne!

Mike DeVivo – And there is the prison.

Jerry Nelson – There were two great monologues by Rick, “I just wanted to get it over with, I wanted him dead” and “This is not a democracy.” Great final episode for the season. That was a lot of fun.

Mike DeVivo – I agree.

Roger Riddell III – It was an episode I enjoyed. Believe it or not.

Matthew Sardo – What was everyone’s favorite part of this episode?

Mike DeVivo – Rick is officially a badass, and he has asserted himself in a way that will make next season interesting.

Mike DeVivo – Rick’s monologue to Lori. I liked that he just came out with it, no apologies.

Jerry Nelson – Agreed. I like Rick growing a pair finally. The Michonne reveal was awesome, as well.

Roger Riddell III – I enjoyed the “I’m standing too far back for this to actually work” decapitation.

Matthew Sardo – It was an extreme angle of the camera!

Jerry Nelson – Girl from HBO’s Treme is Michonne. She was the NY girlfriend of the jazz player I think.

Roger Riddell III – Dammit, Comic Book Men. The Green Goblin never died! He went to Europe for a few years.

Matthew Sardo – Comic Book Men is so bad!

Jerry Nelson – I don’t mind it. It’s goofy.

Matthew Sardo – For me, it is just a very boring episode of Pawn Stars.

Roger Riddell III – Same here. Plus, it’s just gonna cause way more misconceptions along the lines of the whole “Inkers are just tracers!” thing.

Mike DeVivo – That and everyone on it acts like they are pre-pubescent kids.

Jerry Nelson – For me, it’s an interesting episode of Pawn Stars.

Roger Riddell III – What a thoughtful girlfriend that was. I wish someone would buy Amazing Spider-Man #121 and 122 for me. Where are these kind of women in my life?

John Pontoon left the conversation.

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The Star Wars Project

Matthew Sardo

March 15, 2012

Episode 00 ‘The Star Wars Project’

It is a dark time for Star Wars fans, a good Star Wars movie (that has real people in it and not cartoons) hasn’t been put out by Lucas Arts since 1983 and now we are all being forced to cough up $17 each to watch the prequels in ‘3D’ so that maybe Lucas will continue and release the originals in 3D as well. But, the bad news is that the ‘3D’ in The Phantom Menace wasn’t really all that 3D while the dialog was just as terrible. Meanwhile, with each Blu-Ray or limited edition that come out, Lucas keeps tinkering. . .

The STAR WARS Novels Timeline

So what do you do if you want more Star Wars but really really don’t want to see what Lucas would do with another movie? Well besides trying to fix the movies like this guy or even Topher Grace recently tried to do, you could pick up one of the many books that add to the Star Wars saga. In fact you could try to read all 251 of them. That’s what I’m doing.

Starting in early April of 2010, I decided to read every single Star Wars book that I could find and that fit somewhat with the official canon of the series. So far I have read 132 books, which puts me right in the middle of the Han Solo Trilogy . There have been good books, the Sith books by Drew Karpyshyn and James Luceno were particularly interesting and not so good books – The Adventures of Lando Calrissian were a little hard to get through and had no bearing to the over-arching story.

If you have opinions or recommendations about any of the books, I would love to hear them. In general, I read up to one of the movies then I watch the movie and continue – yes this meant watching all the prequels again. Wow, ‘Revenge of the Sith’ was so much worse than I remembered. And, if you’d like to try reading all of them yourself I would love to hear about that too. Here is the most recent list provided by James Luceno in his latest book ‘Darth Plagueis.’ I have added a few of the series such as Jedi Quest and Last of the Jedi series even though they may not be canon because they help to flesh out the story – especially of Obi Wan and more so because I already went through the trouble if reading them.

As I finish each book, I will post a review along with relevant links and a description of how the book affects the overall story. I will also try not to spoil as much as possible and post a warning when I am about to.

Like I said, I am reading all 251 of these things – and they keep making more so that number will go up, and all I can say is that I am not looking forward to ‘The Courtship of Princess Leia.’

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Review: MONOCYTE #3 Moses enters the fight and he’s brought a friend

Matthew Sardo

March 14, 2012

MONOCYTE#3

Story By: MENTON3 and Kasra Gahnbari

Art By: MENTON3

Review Score: 9.5/10

This issue starts out with Grod finding New found power he desperately craved by using threats and psalm quotes . The same group of Olignostics who taunted him now fear and revere him due to MONOCYTE destroying the former source of their power. The Conduit and The Sheperd are gone and Grod sees this as his opportunity to seize control of his brothers and have them adhere to his beliefs and teachings. It’s an interesting twist right out of the gate showing us that these ideals aren’t set into stone and that Kasra and MENTON3 have a lot more story to tell with these characters.

We are then taken to a scene between The Marquis and Beatrice.The Marquis demands that Beatrice tell her why she hesitated when seeing MONOCYTE and Beatrice uses this opportunity to give us our first glimpse into who the man Augustus was before we knew him as Azrael’s Avatar of Death MONOCYTE.This is a great scene showing us a torn and troubled man searching for his twin but instead we see how our title character is born. It’s a creepy and haunting sequence that does just enough to show you that Azrael has been working behind the scenes longer then you think. Some people may not agree with humanizing MONOCYTE but I think it’s a great lead into the last part of this issue.

The Antedeluvians and Moses prep for the arrival of our title character and are increasingly confident that they are safe. When MONOCYTE arrives at the palace of the Antedeluvians he is met at the gate by Moses who knows that MONOCYTE desperately seeks death for everyone including himself. Moses solution? He creates an Avatar for life in a double page spread that is simply beautiful , frightening , and as original a creature design that I’ve ever seen. MONOCYTE has finally met something that he may fear and is backhanded clear across the barren wasteland .As his armor and helmet fly off we are left with a final page shot of Augustus the man…wondering if MONOCYTE exists anymore and how our title character will survive next issue.

MENTON3’s art is some of the most intricately painted and thought out work I’ve ever seen. He creates such visually dynamic scenes that they are asking to be ripped out of the book and putup on your wall. There is a consistency to his work that border lines on the obsessive and it shows in the high quality of his work. Again I especially enjoyed the final 3 pages and character design he came up with for the Avatar of life. It should also be noted that the 2 backup stories in this issue are nto filler .Instead they do a great amount to help move the story further along as the slaves of both the Olignostics and Antedeluvians are starting to fight back for their survival.

Leading off this issue quoting psalms may seem like a very risky thing to do in the world of comics , however MONOCYTE tends to be the rare exception to the rule . It’s a first in its medium to do something so large in scope , so intentional that you are willing to devour every bit of information you can to gain a fresher perspective on the source material.Don’t sleep on this book .In a day and age where things are always over spoken , over explained and ill planned , its nice to find a book that rewards its readers for allowing the creative team to tell a story .It’s the rare book that seamlessly combines art and a new concept perfectly together.After all isn’t that what we started reading comics for in the first place.

Mike DeVivo

Follow me on Twitter @pandasandrobots

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Review: Scarlet Spider #3 – The Assassin’s Guild Returns

Roger Riddell

March 14, 2012

Scarlet Spider #3
Writer: Chris Yost
Art: Ryan Stegman [Pencils], Babinski & Von Grawbadger [Inks], Marte Gracia with Andres Mossa [Colors]

Chris Yost continues to explore Kaine Parker’s transformation in Houston from sometimes-villainous clone to costumed vigilante as part of his past comes back to haunt him.

After saving illegal immigrant Aracely from the Salamander, Kaine has taken it upon himself to keep her in hiding and protect her from deportation. As a result, he’s had to enlist the help of a Houston doctor and a bartender fluent in Spanish along the way.

In the meantime, he’s patrolled the streets at night, and Yost’s Scarlet Spider has proven to be what you’d get if you gave Spider-Man the badass attitude of Batman.

At one point this issue, he pops down from a building to grab a mugger in the act and swing across the city while holding the buy by the face. Eventually, he stops long enough to drop the thief from a building and catch him with webbing, causing the would-be mugger to wet himself in the process, before demanding that he leave the city lest Kaine should “break his bones in ways that will never heal” and “tear every piece of flesh from his body.” The art for this scene alone was fantastic, not just showing a large yellow spot on the mugger’s pants, but urine dripping down his shoes, as well.

As the story progresses, we find out that the doctor Kaine has been working with has been targeted by a member of the Assassin’s Guild (most likely by a man at the beginning of the issue who threatens his life after he fails to save the lives of his wife and daughter). During their battle, the assassin sees Kaine’s face (Kaine was once a member), which makes the doctor’s problem even more of a problem for Kaine.

This is yet another great issue to one of Marvel’s best new series. Yost has not only been doing a great job of fleshing out Kaine as a newly-reformed vigilante, but of fleshing out Houston as a character in these stories much in the same way New York is a character in Spider-Man stories. In this issue, for example, the vast difference in the number of skyscrapers is made light of when Kaine suddenly runs out of places to web-swing from. Even the art has a warmer feel, reflecting the book’s locale.

Digging into Kaine’s past for villains and building up a supporting cast is yet another way Yost is drawing parallels with Spider-Man without just making this book about a clone into a clone of an existing book.

If you haven’t given Scarlet Spider a look yet, there’s no better time than now–especially with second and third printings of the first two issues on the way.

STORY: 9/10
ART: 9/10

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Review: Wolverine and the X-Men #7 – Lessons in “Extreme Zoology”

Roger Riddell

March 14, 2012

Wolverine and the X-Men #7
Writer: Jason Aaron
Art: Nick Bradshaw [Pencils]; Walden Wong, Norman Lee, and Nick Bradshaw [Inks]; Justin Ponsor [Colorist]

With half the school’s faculty and several student inside of Kitty Pryde trying to fight off her Brood infestation, Broo (the school’s intellectual Broodling) is left to fend off the school’s mysterious invader alone while Wolverine and Quentin Quire are in outer space trying to scam an intergalactic casino to fund the Jean Grey School.

About that mysterious invader–we finally get an explanation as to who he is. As opposed to being an intergalactic “bounty killer,” it turns out his name is Professor Xanto Starblood and he’s an “extreme zoologist” and head of the Intergalactic Anthropology Department at the University of Rigel-13. (Oy, cosmic Marvel makes my head hurt.)

Anyhow, Starblood came to the school to kill Broo, who he sees as an evolutionary misstep from the rest of the Brood–a race of savage, blood-thirsty aliens.

Meanwhile, Wolverine and Quentin Quire fight off security at the casino and Quire figures out that his telepathic powers extend to him being able to form weapons from psychic energy, not unlike Psylocke. It’s a nice little addition to the character, who it seems is being fleshed out to the point that his antagonistic relationship with Wolverine is beginning to become not unlike the one that existed between Wolverine and Professor X.

Anyhow, all of the arc’s plot threads are tied up in this issue, with Broo overcoming his problem via a momentary display of animalistic rage and Wolverine and Quire escaping the casino–without their intergalactic winnings. I was wondering how space money would work on Earth, anyways, but Krakoa ends up having a convenient enough solution for the school’s money troubles in the end. He’s a living mass of Earth, after all.

It’s even hinted that the Bamfs (the little blue Nightcrawler-looking guys that have been running around the book) are actually some sort of gremlins, which explains something I’ve been wondering since the book launched late last year.

All in all, Jason Aaron delivers another solid issue that stays fun while piling on a ton of character development. Not only does he continue to evolve Quire’s character here, he also sets the stage for a Warbird-Iceman-Kitty Pryde love triangle (not to mention an awkward encounter the next time Iceman or Kitty run into Colossus).

The art here is a perfect match for the tone set by Aaron, as well, maintaining a cartoonish-but-realistic feel. I think I’ve said it before, but if another X-Men cartoon came along with this art style (and the type of writing on display here), I’d watch it in a heartbeat.

STORY: 9/10
ART: 9/10

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